Belt buckle



Sept. 30, 1958 N. GENTILUOMO BELT BUCKLE Filed Jan. 11, 1955 ATTO R N EY United States Patent 1 2,853,756 BELT BUCKLE Nunzio Gentiluomo, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Ja. Novelty Company, New York, N. Y., a coparlnership composed of Fannie Grumet and Bernard M. Freiberg Application January 11, 1955, Serial No. 481,087 4 Claims. (Cl. 24-178) The present invention relates to covered belt buckles particularly well adapted to bear ornamentation.

An object of the present invention is to provide a covered belt buckle of improved appearance capable of economic assembly by the use of standard materials and machinery.

Another object thereof is the provision of such a buckle to which ornamental elements may be easily and attractively secured.

These and other objects are achieved in the preferred form of the present invention by means of a pair of planar wire loops arranged in spaced relationship, the planes of said loops being substantially parallel, covered with a sheath of a textile or plastic sheet material, the longitudinal edges of such sheet overlapping, the sheath being secured in place about said loops by means of a line of stitching intermediate said loops and a tongue pivotally secured to one portion of said loops so as to be extendable across them.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the'present invention may be had by referring to the following description and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing which illustrates a preferred embodiment thereof, it being understood that the foregoing statement of the objects of said invention and the brief summary thereof are intended to generally explain the same without limiting it in any manner.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a belt buckle embodying the present invention, part of the sheath being shown thrown back to better disclose the internal structure.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the front of a complete buckle.

Fig. 4 is a side view thereof.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section taken along line 55 of Fig. 4.

The buckle shown in the drawing is the preferred form of the present invention and comprises a pair of wires and 11 each formed into a D-shaped loop, the corresponding portions of each wire being aligned, said wires being covered by a sheath 12, the longitudinal edges of said sheath overlapping, said sheath being secured about said wires by means of a line of stitching 13 which extends through sheath 12 and lies between looped wires 10 and 11. A preferably metallic ferrule 14 is secured over sheath 12 over the abutting ends of wires 10 and 11 and a tongue 15, having a terminal eye 16, is pivotally secured over said ferrule by passing the eye thereover, the shank 17 thereof extending across the buckle, a rest portion 18 of said tongue coming into contact with the opposite side of the buckle.

Wires 10 and 11 are preferably made of a moderately stiif steel wire. The degree of stiffness selected will be dictated by the use to which the buckle will be put, although as explained below, the structural strength of the buckle is not solely dependent upon such stiffness. Sheath 12 is preferably made of a textile or plastic material, the sole condition, in the form shown, being that it accept and hold a line of stitching.

In assembling the buckle, a web of sheath material is laid out. Wires 10 and 11 are then centrally laid thereon, spaced in parallel, the Wire: having first been "ice cut to the desired size. Longitudinal edges 19 and 20 (see Fig.- l) of the sheath material are then infolded about said wires, said edges overlapping. Line of stitching 13 is then run through said material between said wires. The stitching serves two purposes. It secures sheath 12 about wires 10 and 11. At the same time it maintains the spacing between the wires and in eifect causes a separate encasing of each wire, giving the structure formed a substantial resistance to deformation in the direction of the plane extending between the spaced wires (i. e. laterally normal to line of stitching 13). The tighter the ensheathing of each wire, the greater is such resistance. The encased wires may then be bent into the t3 shape shown in Fig. 3. Eye 16 of a completed tongue 15 is then slipped between the junction of the free ends of said wires and then pushed away from the junction. Ferrule 14 is placed about said junction over sheath 12 and clamped into tight engagement about the free ends of said wires. Assembly is completed by sliding said eye 16 of tongue 15 over said ferrule.

The result is a covered belt structure of surprising strength, yet one which employs a minimum of metal and provides large areas to which ornamentation may be affixed.

Although the invention has been described herein with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example and that numerous additional changes in construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without transcending the scope of the invention as hereafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

l. A belt buckle comprising a pair'of substantially identical spaced stiif wire loops, an overlapping sheath around and joining said loops, means intermediate said loops securing said sheath about each of said loops and a tongue pivotally mounted about a portion of said loops so as to extend thereacross.

2. A belt buckle as described in claim 1, said.mea.ns intermediate said loops comprising a line of stitching.

3. A belt buckle comprising a pair of substantially identical spaced stifi wire loops, a continuous sheath of overlapping sheet material wrapped around said loops, a line of stitching through the overlapping portion of said sheath intermediate said loops thereby separately encasing each loop and securing said sheath about said loops and a tongue pivotally mounted over one portion of said loops so as to be extendable across said loops.

4. A belt buckle comprising a closed structure including a pair of substantially identical spaced substantially parallel stifi wire loops of the configuration of said structure, corresponding portions of said loops being aligned, a sheath of sheet material wrapped around said loops, the longitudinal edges of said sheet overlapping,

a line of stitching intermediate said loops through the overlapping portion of said sheath, a ferrule clamped about said sheath, a tongue pivotally mounted to said ferrule and extendable across said structure to a portion thereon opposite said ferrule.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 714,471 Gaisman Nov. 25, 1902 1,274,754 Novick Aug. 6, 1918 1,905,392 Freydberg Apr. 25, 1933 2,066,398 Getts Jan. 5, 1937 2,538,938 Garay Jan. 23, 1951 2,784,415 Siegel Mar. 12, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 252,858 Switzer and par-"MM", 9st. 15, 1 48 

